Episode 242: The Art and Craft of Resublimation

Play Now!

Advertisers have been stealing good ideas for years and using them to crassly push their products. It's only fair, then, that we mock those ads, perhaps enough to destroy their sales effectiveness. Hence, Episode 242: The Art and Craft of Resublimation.

In this episode, I read from: Tom Wolfe's 1968 book, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, which I recounted (probably incorrectly) from memory; my Quickie Computer Dictionary; and Tim Wu's book The Attention Merchants: The Epic Struggle to Get Inside Our Heads. Just a few more Wu's Attention Merchant episodes, and I'll be caught up with Wu's tale.

I played: Marshall McLuhan from the movie Annie Hall criticizing some jerk in a movie line; and Timothy Leary's famous "turn on" slogan.


Now this is subversive resumblimation!



Musically, I blasted you with several versions of a tune that dominated the seventies. Here's a link to the song's Wiki page so you can untangle the many versions and see how long each stayed on the charts. Mr. Ceglowski opens the show backed by KMFDM, and I close with the New Seekers doing their version.

Episode 241: TANA, ATU Edition

Play Now!

In my last episode, I questioned use of the word "accidents," which take focus away from the hazards that cause them. Why? Because hazards can be fixed. I'll give you some real-world examples of good places to start in this Episode 241: TANA, ATU Edition.

In this episode, I once again read from Jessie Singer's book, There Are No Accidents: The Deadly rise of Injury and Disaster——Who Profits and Who Pays the Price. I also read from a report from Fat Pencil Studio, the computer experts hired to create the footage demonstrating the visibility obstructions in the 2010 Portland bus accident.

Musically, I played a new intro from Jesse Richardson backed, as usual, by KMFDM. I'm closing today with Mistle Thrush.

Ten Freakin' Years!

This very short episode is merely a brief calendrical announcement and celebration. Enjoy.

Episode 240: There Are No Accidents

Play Now!

For too long, the question of what is “safe”—and who should take the blame when it isn't—has been muddled in the name of profits. Maybe we should avoid the word “accident” itself. I'll explore that question in this Episode 240: There Are No Accidents.

In this Episode, I read from Jessie Singer's 2022 book, There Are No Accidents: The Deadly Rise of Injury and Disaster——Who Profits and Who Pays the Price. Seriously. I highly encourage anyone out there to check out this book. It's not perfect——no book is——but it does explore in detail how badly moneyed interests have misinformed us about who should take the blame.

Musically, I play: a lick from the classic banjo soundtrack to the movie Deliverance; and the nineteenth-century chorus from the worker-rights song "Eight Hours," as sung by Cincinnati's University Singers from the 1978 album The Hand That Holds The Bread: Progress and Protest in the Gilded Age; Songs from the Civil War to the Columbian Exposition. KMFDM's "Attack" backs Bruce Livesy in the intro; and I close with Mistle Thrush.

Episode 239: What I Do With The Mad That I Feel

Play Now!

My show is reactive: things happen, and I react to them. This happened recently when the number and tone of commercials in my podcast feed spiked. I cover this and speculate on why it happened in this Episode 239: What I Do With The Mad That I Feel.

In this episode, I read from J. C. McQuiston's letter concerning radio advertising from the August, 1922 issue of Radio News called "Advertising by Radio. Can It and Should It Be Done?"

I played: two episodes of On The Media, one from November 3rd and the other from November 10th. (Keep in mind that if you go to the links and listen for the same ads I excerpted, you probably won't find them, simply because ads are inserted dynamically, and mine date back to the original releases.) I also played Mr. Fred Rogers testifying before congress in 1969.

Musically, I played: some incidental music from the old radio drama Dragnet; and Podington Bear doing "In My Head". KMFDM's "Attack" backed Tim Bousquet in the opening, and I'm closing now with Mistle Thrush's close to "It's All Like Today".

Episode 238: The Third Estate Rising

Play Now!

Politics in America comes down to the DEMs vs. the GOPs, right? One represents wealth, and the other claims the hearts of regular people, right? Well, it’s more complicated. I'll explore this complicatedness in this Episode 238: The Third Estate Rising.

In this episode, I read from: a 2018 RAND Corporation paper titled "Truth Decay: An Initial Exploration of the Diminishing Role of Facts and Analysis in American Public Life"; William Rosen's 2010 book, The Most Powerful Idea in the World: A Story of Steam, Industry, and Invention; Joel Kotkin's 2020 book, The Coming of Neo-Feudalism: A Warning to the Global Middle Class. I shared from memory the origin of the word "churl," something I got from The History of English Podcast.


An image from the James Galbraith article mentioned below.

I also shared a James Galbraith article, "Inequality and the 2016 Election Outcome: A Dirty Secret and a Dilemma."

I played: Jimmy Fallon and his band backing and slow jamming the neoliberal utterances of Barack Obama. KMFDM backed an opening with Martin Luther King, Jr. in honor of Black History Month, and I'm closing today with Julie & Rolf & The Campfire Gang doing "Over the Rainbow".

Episode 237: Spare Me The EULAgee!

Play Now!

We all suspect our devices are increasingly using their microphones and cameras to snoop on us. Over the years, I’ve explored that suspicion. I’ll go over some of that history, and finish with some news, in this Episode 237: Spare Me The EULAgee!

In this episode, I read from: Dr. Beet's blog and others who continued the outrage; Shoshanna Zuboff's book The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight For a Human Future At The New Frontier of Power; one article from The Daily Beast, two articles from Gigaom, and two more from 404 Media; a Fruitie web page; and a page stored in the Internet Archive.

I played: smart tv owner Peter Kent interviewed by the BBC; quickly deleted audio from a smart tv maker's web site; On The Media's Brooke Gladstone interviewing Congressman Walter Jones; someone named Brie Thomason introducing a video showing infrared flashes; and The CBS Evening News trying to discredit the myth that phones listen in. KMFDM opened the show with Shoshana Zuboff; and I'm closing today with Mistle Thrush.

Episode 236: Madison's Farcical Tragedy

Play Now!

I introduce a new word in this episode more to point out that it does not represent a new concept, but rather a very old one. The problem of controlling this recent outbreak due to an old story is the topic of this Episode 236: Madison's Farcical Tragedy.

In this episode, I read from: a transcript for a speech given by danah boyd on agnotology; Robert McChesney and John Nichols' 2013 book, Dollarocracy: How the Money and Media Election Complex is Destroying America; and Robert McChesney's also 2013 book Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism is Turning The Internet Against Democracy.

I played: Brooke Gladstone from On The Media interviewing Brian Stelter; David Simon giving testimony to Congress about the collapse of newspapers; and D. L. Myers invoking the haunting Powell Movement Stinger. Musically, KMFDM backed Jesse Richardson in a new opening segment concerning the best and worst of we humans; and I'm closing today with Julie & Rolf & The Campfire Gang doing "Over the Rainbow".

Addendum, February 11, 2024: It has quite recently come to my attention that I am, as was once pointed out to me in friendly correspondence, dumber than dried dog shit. Near the end of this episode, I promised a link to a radio thing that kinda sorta confirmed suspicions I voiced in this episode.

I forgot to provide the link. Hence, I am that dumb. Dried dog shit dumb.

Here's the link to that Here & Now story as previously promised.